Large size community aquarium, should I do it?

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OrionGirl

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Aug 14, 2001
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There are several species of bristlenose, but a lot of them will be L numbers. Check Planet Catfish. They'll list cories as well. There are lots that are hardy, but might be difficult to find. Do you know where you're getting your fish from? A great resource, if you're willing to ship, would be The Wet Spot. They bring in some rare and unusual fishes frequently.
 

Rafini

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There are several species of bristlenose, but a lot of them will be L numbers. Check Planet Catfish. They'll list cories as well. There are lots that are hardy, but might be difficult to find. Do you know where you're getting your fish from? A great resource, if you're willing to ship, would be The Wet Spot. They bring in some rare and unusual fishes frequently.
Shipping isn't really an option for me. I can't find any Canadian online fish retailers that sell freshwater fish. To import anything from the states including animals there is a large fee and the state of the canadian dollar right now means I would be paying probably double than the actual price.

I have been somewhat lucky in finding interesting species locally, there is a large store thats about 45 minutes drive from where I live, its a little overpriced but they have an amazing amount of uncommon species.
Planet catfish is an amazing resource, I lurk there quite often actually
Do you see any problems with the fish I would like to keep?
 

OrionGirl

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Well...you have a substantial list. You can't go with all of them in the same setup. ;)

There are Canadian fish clubs as well, though I'm not sure where might be considered near for you. Fish clubs are a great resource. I can poke a few people, see if they can make recommendations.
 

SnakeIce

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Upper Strata -
Gourami (not sure on species, Pearl, 3 spot, thick lip, honey etc) pref. a species that likes groups.
hatchet fish
Festivum

Middle strata-
Keyhole cichlid 4-5 juveniles
Kribensis
Badis
Dwarf puffer
Angelfish
South american small growing plant friendly cichlids that are NOT appisto`s
(I like Rams but they will never breed in my hard water and that somewhat kills the challenge of keeping a group of rams)

Shoaling fish-
Neons (not if angel)
Cardinals
Emporers
Harlequin (not if angel)
Lemon Tetra
Columbian Tetra

Low Strata-
Corydoras (Panda, julie, terbai, etc
Dwarf Corydoras (not common but I used to have a group of 6 in a 10g and they were awesome)
Bristlenose pleco
Blockhead cichlid (uncommon, expensive but pretty neat)
weatherloach? ( prefers cooler water, had one as a kid and thought it was pretty neat.
I don't consider the 3 spot gourami to be in the peaceful catagory, and the pearl and snakeskin are.

For peacefull planted you could also consider the rainbow cichlid (herotilapia multispinossa), uaru but they get a bit larger.

For tank decorating inspiration try looking at the images returned when you google iwagumi. Or check out some of the contest entries on http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/ . The current work is so fantastic as to be hardly applicable to a community aquarium like you want, but I think you could find some ideas if you looked at the earlier years of the contest entries.
 

Rafini

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I don't consider the 3 spot gourami to be in the peaceful catagory, and the pearl and snakeskin are.

For peacefull planted you could also consider the rainbow cichlid (herotilapia multispinossa), uaru but they get a bit larger.

For tank decorating inspiration try looking at the images returned when you google iwagumi. Or check out some of the contest entries on http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/ . The current work is so fantastic as to be hardly applicable to a community aquarium like you want, but I think you could find some ideas if you looked at the earlier years of the contest entries.
I have kept a group of snakeskins Before, I found them very shy and skittish until settled in. they displayed some really nice subtle yellow colors too, a nice alternative to common gourami species. the females I had grew quite large and fast. I would probably lean more towards The pearl gourami because at least they are easier to get hold of.
Rainbow cichlids are a great if I can find colorful ones locally, I once had a brown one I was convinced would turn out beautiful under the right conditions, it never showed a single drop of color for years, kinda dissapointing.

I did try a group of moonlight gourami once, they were very mean to eachother and weren't as hardy as other gourami, not one of my recommendations lol.

I would love an aquascape that utilizes Christmas Moss. I have ever multiplying amounts of it and I could probably pull of something interesting with it, I only started doing plants about a year ago, and I'm not into the whole Co2 high intensity planted tanks.

How many Scissor tail rasbora would be okay in a 120? I hear they can get quite large but I`ve only ever seen the 1" juveniles for sale. I would love to have a group of these, kind of like a more appropriate replacement for bala sharks. I would be tempted to go asian themed and make a biotope but I really want some corydoras and I`m not really that interested in having loaches.
 

SnakeIce

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Scissor tail rasboras can reach 6 inches but in aquariums tend to be 4 or 5 inches. My dad had one survivor out of a group that lived 8 or 9 years in a 20 long and was about 3 inches long. They can be energetic swimmers and don't fare well with aggressive fish. They have to be acclimated carefully and need clean water or they don't do well.

Yeah rainbow cichlids are named weird because they aren't colorful. Even in breeding dress they are black and nondescript with bronze shading. Even that is subdued in color, with the exception that the black is solid and pure.

Yeah, I like plants and usually try to have some variety and put design thought into it, but if it is fussy to maintain I move on from that plant. My comment to look at the contest photos was only about getting basic ideas. I think they even have a biotope section and those are instructive as well.
 

Rafini

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Scissor tail rasboras can reach 6 inches but in aquariums tend to be 4 or 5 inches. My dad had one survivor out of a group that lived 8 or 9 years in a 20 long and was about 3 inches long. They can be energetic swimmers and don't fare well with aggressive fish. They have to be acclimated carefully and need clean water or they don't do well.

Yeah rainbow cichlids are named weird because they aren't colorful. Even in breeding dress they are black and nondescript with bronze shading. Even that is subdued in color, with the exception that the black is solid and pure.

Yeah, I like plants and usually try to have some variety and put design thought into it, but if it is fussy to maintain I move on from that plant. My comment to look at the contest photos was only about getting basic ideas. I think they even have a biotope section and those are instructive as well.
Yeah When I read their maximum size I was a little confused as I`ve never seen any even close to 6" lol. I have some brilliant rasboras in my 75 and they are great fish. Apparently scissortails and Brilliant rasboras will shoal together and have almost identical care requirements. I would acclimate them the same way Neons and Oto`s get introduced, with a slow drip system.

I think its best to just pick a scape I like and try and replicate it. the ones I try and make on my own always look a little off.
 

Rafini

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Well...you have a substantial list. You can't go with all of them in the same setup. ;)

There are Canadian fish clubs as well, though I'm not sure where might be considered near for you. Fish clubs are a great resource. I can poke a few people, see if they can make recommendations.
Thanks for you help :) as for final stocking. I have no idea on numbers, but...

Bristlenose Pleco's
Corydoras
Scissortail Rasbora group
Emperor/another tetra
some kind of peaceful small cichlid
Possibly a group of livebearers


Theres a lot of infighting going on in my tank right now, and I'm busy with college. Not busy enough to have no interest in this hobby. But busy enough that I want a peaceful set up with less drama and more relaxing to watch.
 
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